Detection of Three Species (Apicomplexa) in Blood Samples of the Bank Vole and Yellow-Necked Mouse from Lithuania

Overview

Journal Life (Basel)

Specialty Biology

Date 2024 Mar 28

PMID 38541690

Authors

Petras Prakas

Naglis Gudiskis

Neringa Kitryte

Dovile Laisvune Bagdonaite

Laima Baltrunaite

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The genus is an abundant group of Apicomplexa parasites found in mammals, birds, and reptiles. These parasites are characterised by the formation of sarcocysts in the muscles of intermediate hosts and the development of sporocysts in the intestines of definitive hosts. The identification of spp. is usually carried out in carcasses of animals, while there is a lack of studies on the detection of species in blood samples. In the current study, blood samples of 214 yellow-necked mice () and 143 bank voles () from Lithuania were examined for . The molecular identification of was carried out using nested PCR of and rRNA and subsequent sequencing. spp. were statistically ( < 0.01) more frequently detected in the bank vole (6.3%) than in yellow-necked mice (0.9%). The analysed parasites were observed in four different habitats, such as mature deciduous forest, bog, natural meadow, and arable land. Three species, , , and cf. were confirmed in the bank vole, whereas only were found in yellow-necked mice. The obtained results are important in the development of molecular identification of parasites in live animals.

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